AOC surges past Buttigieg, leaves Harris in the dust in key 2028 battleground poll

Progressive firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has surged to the front of the prospective 2028 Democratic presidential field in New Hampshire, edging Pete Buttigieg and leaving Kamala Harris far behind in a new poll. Ocasio-Cortez drew 22% support among likely Democratic primary voters in the University of New Hampshire Granite State Poll released Wednesday, one point ahead of former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and 17 points ahead of former Vice President Kamala Harris. Ocasio-Cortez gained seven points since the February survey, while Harris and California Gov. Gavin Newsom lost ground — another sign of the New York lawmaker's growing strength among Democratic voters in the early presidential battleground. Ocasio-Cortez has been coy about her 2028 plans and careful not to rule out either a White House run in the race to succeed term-limited President Donald Trump, or a bid for the Senate against longtime Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer. When asked about a run for higher office, Ocasio-Cortez recently said her goal is to 'change the country.' 'Nearly half of socialists and one-third of progressives support Ocasio-Cortez, while pluralities of liberals and moderates support Buttigieg,' Andrew Smith, the director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, said. Fox News coverage of this story: 48.9 minutes on the July 23 broadcast day (per observatory boxscore).